New COVID-19 testing site opens in St. Pete to meet demand
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Community testing sites have been closed for several months now, but with COVID-19 cases on the rise once again, the demand for testing has also gone up. Testing sites are beginning to pop up across the Bay Area, with a new site in Pinellas County opening Monday morning.
The new site at the Center for Health Equity in St. Petersburg will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Center for Health Equity. The address is 2333 34th Street South.
Testing will be free for those interested. It will be operated and managed by CDR Maguire, not the county health department.
The goal is to provide the community with easy access to free testing. The uptick of people needing to be tested for the virus was making it difficult for many to find locations offering a test for free that also had appointments available.
Exterior shot of the Center for Health Equity before the COVID-19 testing officially opened on Aug. 9.
Additional COVID-19 testing sites, such as at CVS and AFC Urgent Care, is listed on the Pinellas County website.
Over the past week, different testing sites have begun to open up across Bay Area counties. Two new drive-through sites opened in Hillsborough County over the weekend, with another location in Manatee County opening up last week.
The demand is high and the lines are long. Hillsborough County closed both of their testing sites two hours early on Sunday to make sure they could get through all the people in line.
The COVID test sites, Palm River Park Community Center at 725 S. 58th St. in Tampa, and 1101 E. 139th Ave. in Tampa, will be open seven days a week. For information about the two new testing sites in Hillsborough County, visit https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/residents/public-safety/emergency-management/stay-safe/getting-tested.
At the new site in Manatee County, they’ve reported 300 to 400 people getting tested daily. The county opened a testing and vaccination site at the Palmetto Bus Station, located at 1802 Eighth Avenue West.
More information on testing sites in Manatee County can be found here.